Chemin des Dames – Ladies‘ Way 1914-1918

Visit the famous Ladies’ Way, a high ridge where severe fighting took place and various offensives succeeded or choked in blood.

The ridge known as the Ladies’ Way was the scene of extremely bloody fighting, especially during the Nivelle-Offensive in 1917. During this offensive, thousands of French and especially Colonial troops sacrificed their lives and brought the French Army close to a collective mutiny. Afterwards, it took the French Army months to recover and to regain its strength and morale.

It was also here that the last successful German offensive on the Western Front commenced in May 1918. It brought the Kaiser’s army once more to the Marne River and close to a final victory, before Germany’s power faded away.

Several monuments, destroyed villages and farm buildings, shell-pocked terrain, trenches and former staging areas are stretched along the Ladies’ Way.

Highlights include the Winterberg, the Dragon’s Cavern — an underground quarry, the village of Cerny and the Laffaux Plateau. Additional underground quarries as well as military cemeteries in the area are worth a visit as well.

Tour length and geography can vary based on client availability, interest level and physical ability. Tour length can last from six hours to several days to explore this operation in depth.